Ahead of the launch of new biannual adventure-focused publication Avaunt, we caught up with its illustrious team, which includes polar explorer Ben Saunders and designer Matt Willey, to talk about their vision and the magazine's striking use of photography.
Tell us a little bit about Avaunt and its remit.
Ben Saunders: The original idea we had three years ago was to create a journal that documented pioneering expeditions, and that covered adventure in a literal, focused and quite outdoorsy sense. There will still be a strong thread of that running through it, but Avaunt has grown to become a title that documents and celebrates adventure in a far wider sense. We’ll be publishing challenging stories about human endeavour in fields as diverse as space flight and poetry. There will be two beautiful print magazines per year, an annual event, a tonne of digital content, and the option to become a member.
Where do you see the gap in the market for this kind of adventure magazine?
Saunders: The initial idea was a response to the recent trend for made-for-TV pseudo-adventure shows, and the sad realisation that a lot of the genuinely pioneering endeavour and discovery of our time (and indeed from our history) was going unrecognised and uncelebrated. We were also inspired by the audience that TED has generated online, and in the age of Vine and vloggers, it was inspiring to us to see such a strong global appetite for intellectually challenging content. We’ll be pushing the boundaries of what a magazine can do, and certainly won’t be shying away from long-form writing.
Tell us about the team.
Saunders: The initial seeds were planted in a conversation (in a pub!) between me [the polar explorer Ben Saunders] and two of the the founding editors of Port magazine, Dan Crowe and Matt Willey. Dan is still Port’s editor-in-chief, and Matt’s current day job is as Art Director of The New York Times Magazine, so Avaunt has a lot of hard-won publishing experience and wisdom behind it. Avaunt’s extended team include Emily Bell, Alex Hunting, James Lindeman, Jolyon Webber, Rebecca McClelland, Olie Arnold, Nick Rainsford and Ray Murphy.
What’s the design vision for the magazine?
Alex Hunting: The excitement and energy of adventure needs to be reflected, not just in the content of the magazine but in the design as well. We have developed a design language that is sophisticated and refined whilst remaining bold and modern. The design needs to be able to accommodate a wide range of content, from a photo essay about tribesmen in Papua New Guinea to a comic strip about a young duo in a magic treehouse. We’ve used a classic style with a strict grid to create a cohesive structure for all this varied content to sit within, while retaining the ability to break out of it and surprise the reader. We’ve worked with some superb collaborators along the way and will continue to do so, seeking out the best photographers, illustrators, filmmakers and animators to do justice to a fantastic variety of content.
Has the magazine evolved since the it was in the planning stages?
Dan Crowe: Not so much; and yes! The initial idea was to treat the subject of adventure in the broadest possible way. I think we have achieved that with the launch issue and online, but in doing so we realised just how far we can take this. So we have succeeded in doing what we set out to do, just. Now we are here, we want to take it much further.
Can you talk me through the use of photography in the magazine?
Rebecca McClelland: Avaunt’s vision for photography is bold. We aren’t afraid to embrace new contributors and will dedicate many pages to photographers that we believe in. I think this comes across very well in this first issue, with Frédéric Lagrange’s stunning and lengthy photo essay and Jack Davison’s epic hike up Snowdon in the name of fashion. I’ve had long working relationships with many of the contributors in this first issue (photographers like Vincent Fournier, Metz & Raccine, Anna Huix) but we want to make sure that Avaunt is a magazine which incubates new photographers, supporting their ideas, however wild they might be.
How will the digital edition build on the print magazine?
James Lindeman: We’re in a great position with print and digital being very much a part of Avaunt early on. They’re really two channels of the same publication. Digital is where we’ll present film and audio and have the ability to share stories at a different pace. We’re going to include long-form writing online too. Being both print and digital means we’re not limited in how we can share a story. Some will run in parallel where others will be completely separate. That really depends on how we want to present them and how relevant they are to the time and place we publish them.
What’s been the most challenging part of the project so far?
Dan Crowe: The magazine has been produced by a team based in London, New York and the wilds of Canada. There have been times when this has not been easy. But really it has been a joy. The only truly challenging thing was deciding on what stories to keep in, as there is a limit to the pages we have in the magazine (an old fashioned restriction we are fond of).
Technical spec.
Alex Hunting: The magazine is 192pp with both uncoated and a gloss paper stock. We’ve used an uncoated stock for the front section which features a variety of length pieces, photography, infographics etc, and a gloss stock for the feature well to showcase the stunning imagery.
The typography combines a custom stencil display typeface and logotype (a collaboration between Henrik Kubel and Avaunt), a classic beautiful serif (Antwerp) for body copy and standfirsts and a typewriter typeface for small text and captions to give a technical feel. In addition we use a smattering of a custom rounded version of MFRED for energetic and bold openers to features.
We’ve used a fifth colour throughout the magazine as an accent colour. The red PMS is used for small hits across the spreads such as for captions and infographics to help the pages retain a bold feel, whilst reproducing crisply in one hit at small type sizes.
avauntmagazine.com
